Official Author WebsiteOrder The Price Of Faithhere (US) and here (UK)Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of It Takes A Thief To Catch A SunriseRead Fantasy Book Critic's review of The Heresy WithinRead Fantasy Book Critic's review of The Colour Of VengeanceRead Fantasy Book Critic interview with Rob J. HayesAUTHOR INFORMATION: Rob J. Hayes was born and brought up in Basingstoke, UK. As a child he was fascinated with Lego, Star Wars and Transformers that fueled his imagination and he spent quite a bit of his growing up years playing around with such. He began writing at the age of fourteen however soon discovered the fallacies of his work. After four years at University studying Zoology and three years working for a string of high street banks as a desk jockey/keyboard monkey Rob lived on a desert island in Fiji for three months. It was there he re-discovered his love of writing and, more specifically, of writing fantasy.

OFFICIAL BLURB: Separated and miserable, Thanquil Darkheart and Jezzet Vel’urn both have their reasons for wanting to leave the Dragon Empire. Jezzet flees from the wrathful fury of an Empress scorned while accompanied by the ever insidious Drake Morrass, and Thanquil sets out to find and judge his one heretical loose end.

THE PRICE OF FAITH concludes the acclaimed The Ties That Bind trilogy by Rob J. Hayes.

FORMAT/INFO:The Price Of Faith is divided into five sections with forty-six POV chapters and an epilogue. The narration is in third person via Arbiter Thanquil Darkheart, Jezzet, Betrim Thorn aka The Black Thorn, Jacob Lee, Pern Suzku the Haarin, and Anders. This is the final volume of the Ties That Bind trilogy.

May 4, 2015 marked the North American e-book & trade paperback publication of The Price Of Faith via Ragnarok Publications. Cover art and illustration is done by Alex Raspad.

CLASSIFICATION:The Ties that Bind is a dark fantasy trilogy with terrific characterization and a twisted plot that is very reminiscent of the works by Joe Abercrombie, Mark Lawrence and Scott Lynch.

ANALYSIS: I’ve been a big fan of Rob J. Hayes since I first got my hands on his debut book The Heresy Within. However it was The Color Of Vengeance, which simply blew my mind and convinced me of the awesomeness of this trilogy and the author. With this book, I was waiting to see how the author would end his trilogy. This volume also featured the return of Jezzet and Thanquil who were conspicuously missing from the second volume.

The Price Of Faith begins once again with Thanquil who now finds him being hunted. His prey now has turned predator and the witch stalks Thanquil in his dreams as well as the awakened stage. Thanquil is still bitter about his parting with Jezzet who now finds herself as the court of the Dragon Empire and a friend to the Dragon Empress. A stranger in a strange land, Jezzet finds herself drawn to the weird customs and a certain dark and dangerous pirate who also happens to be the paramour of the Dragon Empress. Drake Morass is feared by everyone and for good reason. His antics in Chade haven’t gone unnoticed however he has a bigger game in mind.

Lastly there’s Betrim “Black Thorn” Thorne who now finds himself as the head of a new crew of deadly misfits and a drunken sot named Anders. Betrim still hungers for revenge for the events that befell him at the end of the first book and just maybe he might find the person who bested him. However can the Black Thorn best those far deadlier than him and his crew. These are the many questions posed in this final volume. However this story is about our three leads introduced in the first book, they all have changed. Jezzet was a killer however by the end of the first book became a true blademaster. Betrim was a scoundrel and murderer however he became a deadlier leader and now leads the motley crew of Henry, Pern, Ben Six Cities, Anders and Riley. This third volume is about the change that befalls Thanquil.
We get to learn how he acquired the sobriquet of Darkheart that has followed him around since his initiations an arbiter. We get to see what really happened in his childhood and how he was “saved” by Arbiter Prin.

We get to see his connection with the Templar Jacob as well learn why the Emperor chose him for the furtive mission. All of this and more is laid bare, in this ending volume. As is the case with the preceding two volumes, characterization once again is the author’s forte. We get all our main POV characters back however once again it’s the side character cast who make the read that much more rewarding. Last time around we got to know Henry, Pern and Anders and while they are back, it’s pirate Drake Morass who steals the show every time he graces the pages. Oozing menace and charm in equal measure; Drake Morass is a charmer who is poison to those he opposes.

He however also steals scenes whenever he appears and confounds our POV characters as much as he does the readers. I believe the author is setting him up for something pivotal in the future and he will be playing a major role in the books to come. Not that he doesn’t play any less of a significant one in this one as well. The action sequences are no less exciting than the preceding volume, however this time around; there are pirates, dragons and demons involved. All the threads introduced so far come to an exciting, action-filled climax which answers some pretty fundamental questions about the nature of reality of the world, the aspect of calling upon a god’s power and also concept of avatarhood.

All the characters from the previous two volumes make an appearance (at least the ones left alive) and there are a few new ones to hook the reader’s interest. There’s also the character arc, with this book it’s Thanquil who gets the treatment and we get a peek into his madness. This book makes even more sympathetic and a little crazy. He’s been pushed to the end of his wits due to the fact that Jezzet is somewhere and needs his help. Thanquil’s background and powers are laid bare and as a reader it was good to read what makes such a complex character tick.

Going on to the drawbacks of the book, one factor going against is that not all threads are completely closed. In fact the epilogue alone puts a whole new spin on the entire story that has happened within the space of three books. Also there’s the aspect of character deaths and particularly a couple of characters meet untimely ends. This on a whole kept the story exciting however on a personal note, I was just saddened by it. Lastly the only other thing that might cause heartache for readers is the fact there’s a resolution provided but that might not be what they expect. To some it might be underwhelming in a way. I think that was the author’s intent to undercut expectations and it will be up to each reader to gauge how successful the author was.

CONCLUSION:The Price Of Faith brings to an explosive end to a trilogy that while being self-published can be safely considered as a fantastic dark fantasy gem. It will have its detractors but the fans outnumber them sharply. The Price Of Faith is indeed about the faith that the characters have invested and the price it extracts when their conventions are challenged. Simply put this is a fantastic end to a great trilogy and a terrific beginning to Rob J. Hayes’ career.

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comments:

Ed Howland
said...

I agree with your sentiments about the book. I enjoyed all of these and will certainly continue to follow Mr. Hayes. This one seemed a bit "choppy" to me. Probably due to his efforts to close the various story arcs. I very much enjoy the characters, a bit more complex than most but at times the Jezzet, Thanquil stuff rang flat. A bit more two dimensional than the three dimensional characters he has created. With all that though, I can't wait for more and will be at the front of the line.

Yeah compared to TCOV, TPOF does seem a bit flat. I think it also has something to do with expectations and with this being the last book of the trilogy.

The Jezzet-Thanquil stuff took centre-stage after being missing from the last book and I found it weird that Thanquil wouldn't directly talk to Jezzet. Ah well, I can't wait to read the follow-up duology that the author is currently writing.